Trim and planing control means for watercraft



April 969 E. L. ECKFIELD 3,435,795

TRIM AND PLANING CONTROL MEANS FORWATERCBAFT Filed Sept. 8, 1966 Sheetof 3 5 JNVENTOR.

E L. ECKFIELD FIG 3 f a; %g

TORNEYS April 1, 1969 E. 1.. ECKFIELD 3,435,795

I TRIM AND PLANING CONTROL MEANS FOR WATERCRAFT Sheet 2 of 3- FiledSept. 8, 1966 2 3, 9 .5 2 5 G 9 I F 4 i 2 8 5 3 2 32/ 4 O 4 44 4 5 4 l a4 a \v 7 2 u FIG.7

INVENTOR.

EUGENE L.- E BYW CKFIZED ATTORNEYS April 1, 9 E. L. ECKFIELD 3,

TRIM AND PLANING CONTROL MEANS FOR"W'ATERCRAFT Filed Sept. 8. 1966 Sheet3 of s INVENTOR.

EUfiENE L. ECKFI D BY s ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,435,795 TRIMAND PLANING CONTROL MEANS FOR WATERCRAFT Eugene L. Eckfield, PompanoBeach, Fla., assignor to Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., Pompano Beach,Fla., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 577,878Int. Cl. B63b 1/22 U.S. Cl. 114-665 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURETrim and planing control means for watercraft of different hull designsare disclosed in various embodiments. These uniformly feature anarrangement in which the hull is recessed, on opposite sides of its keelcenter line and directly forwardly of the lower end of the stern transomof the craft, the recesses being defined by parallel upright side wallsjoined across the top thereof by a forward and downwardly inclined wall.The recesses are preferably covered to a considerable extent at the rearthereof by a part of the transom.

Each recess has a planing member housed and movably mounted therein, themember being operated by means within the craft to depress it out of anormal coplanar, substantially flush relation to adjacent surfaces ofthe hull to a position in which a substantial part of the length of theplane member is disposed in planing position below its recess and thehull. In a preferred embodiment, the planing member is provided at itsrear with an upwardly offset portion, which portion coacts with thetransom in closing the rear of the recess when the planing member isretracted into that recess.

- The present invention relates to improvements in trim and planingcontrol means for watercraft, in particular power propelled boats of onedescription or another; and in accordance with the invention such means,in the various embodiments described herein, takes the form of anadjustable trim control plane or planes mounted at the aft end of a boatand in the main forward of the transom of the latter. A verticaladjustment of such plane means enables the craft to be easily andproperly trimmed to compensate for unsymmetric loading, or to enable thecraft to best plane for an efficient movement through the water.

It is an object of the invention to provide a boat having adjustabletrim control means of the sort described, usually incorporating acontrol plane at each side of the keel line, in which the two planes areindividually rigid and of a nature such that they may conform with anaft curved hull outline, although the planes may, as in the past, alsobe of rectilinear rear outline for association with a boat having aflat-edged transom. Previous trim and planing control tab arrangementsof which I am aware have been unsuited to being built into a hull whosebottom transom outline curves outwardly, forwardly and upwardly from theaft keel zone toward the chine lines of the vessel.

Thus, in accordance with the invention the control plane member ofitself has a curvilinear outline to correspond with that of the transombottom when the plane is in a relatively inoperative, retractedposition, and it is, moreover, mounted for vertical adjusting movementaway from and back to that position in such manner that its aft edge atall times maintains parallelism with the curved aft outline of thewatercraft.

In a preferred embodiment, in which the plane has a pivotally adjustablemount to the hull, this is accomplished by offsetting tWo side hingepivots of the plane 3,435,795 Patented Apr. 1, 1969 relative to oneanother, fore and aft-wise. In other embodiments the plane has a bodilyadjusting movement relative to the hull, and its mount for this movementis also such that substantial rear parallelism with the transom bottomis preserved at all times.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved trim and/orplaning control structure which is, in the retracted position thereofreceived wholly within a bottom recess at the aft of the hull. The craftis thereby enabled to travel through the water with less friction thanwhen the trim or planing control structure is more exposed; and this isalso true in connection with the illustrated embodiments regardless ofwhether the control plane is entirely retracted within the hull recess,or Whether it extended from the latter in greater or lesser degree.

Yet another object is to provide a boat equipped with a recessed andrigid trim control plane unit as described, in which the aft hull recessaccommodating the plane is disposed forward of the transom, preferablybeing at least in part closed at its rear by a bottom portion of thetransom. This minimizes the area of exposure of the recess to afollowing sea, hence minimizes the tendency of the craft to broach inthis condition of operation. Not only is there a minimized tendency tobroach in a following sea, but also when proceeding astern stress on theplanes and their operating mechanism is minimized, along with adetrimental effect on steering and tendency to depress the stern. Thereis less resistance to rearward travel. These are important advantages ofthe present improvements. Again, this is true whether the control planeis in an extended position or is wholly retracted within the bottom hullcontour.

In further accordance with the invention, in at least one embodimentthereof, the control plane is provided at its aft end with an up-turned,flange-like part, which part not only reinforces and stiifens the plane,but also supplements the effect of the transom, as referred to above, inminimizing exposure of the hull recess and plane to a following sea andwhen proceeding astern. The flange outwardly and upwardly overlaps thebottom edge of the transom, mating about the latter in curved conformitytherewith and shielding the hull recess when the boat is afloat orashore.

According to all of the optional adaptations of the invention, the rigidcontrol plane means of the latter have operating connections extendingthrough a sealed hull packing and are preferably controlled byindividual motorized adjusting drives at a conveniently accessibleposition within the watercraft.

The foregoing, as well as other objects, will become more apparent asthis description proceeds, especially when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in rear elevation of a power marine crafttypically equipped with dual trim and/ or plane control means of apivoted type, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, onecontrol plane member being shown in an elevated or retracted position,in which it comes flush with the aft hull and transom contour of theboat, and the other plane member being shown in a lowered or extendedposition;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view in upward perspective showing a bit moreclearly the nature of the improvement in regard to the control plane andan aft hull recess in which it is disposed, as shown in solid line, inits retracted position, an extended position of the plane member beingindicated in dotted line;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the plane and recessarrangement (propeller and rudder provisions of the boat being omitted,although the figure shows a rudder stufiing box to indicate thepositional relationship to the latter of the control plane), this viewindicating the aft-to-forward offsetting of the plane pivots;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged scale fragmentary view in transverse verticalsection on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, showing a detail of the control planepivoting arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in enlarged scale and vertical longitudinalsection along a line corresponding to line 5--5 of FIGS. 3 and 4, withthe trim and/ or planing control member being shown in solid anddot-dash line, respectively, in its extended and retracted positions;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the stern interior of theboat, illustrating individual, motor-operated means for effecting theadjustment of the control plane, such means being typical of an operatorwhich may govern any of the optional embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view illustrating a part of one of thoseoptional modifications, in which the control plane is received in itsentirety in a hull recess whose aft wall terminates substantiallyforward of the transom of the craft, the plane also lacking the upturnedrear flange of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5;

FIG. 8 similarly illustrates another alternative, in which a singleplane is operated for a movement bodily, rather than pivotally, and inan up-and-down way;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the location ofappropriate operating means for the control plane structure of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional illustration of a still furtheralternative embodiment in which the plane adjusts bodily in a fore andaft direction;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a control planeinstallation in accordance with FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view showing the plane and recess arrangementof FIGS. 10 and 11, the plane being indicated in solid and dotted line,respectively, in its retracted and extended positions; and

FIG. -13 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partially broken away, intransverse vertical section on line 13-13 of FIG. 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 as illustrating a preferredembodiment of the invention insofar as the plane arrangement, per se, isconcerned, the marine power craft 10 illustrated therein is of a typehaving a hull 12 shaped at its stern transom 14 in a rearwardly convexoutline, the bottom edges of the transom 14 on either side of the keelline 16- curving upwardly and outwardly to chine lines 18. The transomalso inclines substantially uniformly upwardly and to the rear acrossits beam dimension. It is in a hull design of this type that theimproved trim and/or planing control structures, of which there are twogenerally designated 20, are particularly well adapted for installation.However, they are also obviously well suited for use on a craft having aflat or transversely rectilinear bottom transom outline. The positionalrelationship of the control plane units or structures 20 to therespective twin screws 21 and 22 are clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,i.e., directly above and approximately centered on the latter and aboveand well aft of the former. However, these relationships are notessential to the invention, nor is it necessary that there be dual planeunits 20, nor that the invention be embodied in a twin screw craft.

Now referring in particular to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 of the drawings, theboat hull 12 is shown as being provided equidistantly on either side ofits center keel line with a bottom recess 24 of a substantialforward-to-aft length and substantial vertical dimension, the top wallof recess 24 inclining upwardly and aft-wise. As appears in FIGS. 1 and3, each recess 24 also has considerable width in the beam-wisedirection, in fact amounting to a major part of the width of the sternhull half in which it is located. Recess 24 is laterally defined byupright side walls 25. Adjacent the rear of each recess, the transom 14is formed to provide a downwardly and forwardly inclined extension 27,representing a slight forward recessing or offsetting of the transomproper in the zone of recess 24. This extension to a great extent closesand conceals the aft end of recess, as best appears in FIG. 5.

Each of the control plane units 20 comprises a rigid plateor panel-likeplane 28 of a forward-aft length and a transverse width approximatingbut a trifle less than corresponding dimensions of the recess 24, inwhich the plane is wholly received in its retracted position, indicatedin solid line in FIG. 2 and in dot-dash line in FIG. 5. At its forwardend, the plane 28 (reference being had to FIGS. 4 and 5 in conjunctionwith FIG. 3), has pivot or hinge means 29 at its opposite sides by whichthe plane is journalled on side walls 25 of recess 24.

Thus, each wall 25 has a metal angle 30 fixedly applied there to serveas a wear resistant journal, and the plane 28 is recessed at its forwardside corners to fixedly receive a fiat metal mounting base 31; and atransverse pivot rod 32 is welded to this base. Rod 32 projectsoutwardly of one side of the member into a journal opening 33 of angle30, thus providing for a limited vertical swing of plane 28 into and outof the recess 24 under the control of a motorized operating unit, to bedescribed. It is to be understood that various alternatives of the hingestructure of FIG. 4 are contemplated. For example, a bearing unit ofnylon or other suitable plastic might be substituted for the metaljournal provisions of that figure.

The trim plane 28 is formed at its rear to provide an upwardly inclined,integral flange extension 34 which substantially reinforces and stiffensthe plane member, although this is not the primary function of flange34. As illustrated in dot-dash line in FIG. 2, the latter rearwardlyoverlaps the transom extension 27 in the retracted condition of theplane. The side-to-side width of plane 28 being but slightly less thanthat of recess 24, it is seen that in the retracted or elevated positionof the plane its flange 34 and that of the transom at 27 substantiallywholly seal off the aft end of recess 24. Likewise, in the lower orextended position of plane 28, shown in solid line in FIG. 5, theextensions 27 and 34 still to a considerable extent close off the rearof recess 24. Accordingly, an undesirable effect of a following sea tocause broaching of the craft is minimized to the point of beingeliminated, various advantages when steering sternwiSe are obtained, andthe recess 24 is shielded and protected when the boat is ashore, asmentioned above.

Now referring to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 of the drawings, in which are shownmotorized operating means such as is associated with each plane unit 20,the hull 10 is provided rearwardly and in forward-to-aft alignment withits rudder and rudder shaft sealing structure 36 (which constitutes nopart of the invention) with a tubular stuffing box-type sealing unit 38,which is applied to an opening 39 in the hull bottom just forward oftransom 14. This sealing unit may typically comprise a bottomflanged andexternally threaded, elongated sleeve 40 received from below in theopening 39 and clamped to the hull by a flanged nut 41. Another nutmember 42 threaded onto sleeve 40 serves as a base against which aninverted cup shaped gland 43 threaded downwardly on sleeve 40 may abut,thus permitting a variable compression of several packing rings 44within the gland. An upright operating rod 45 for the control planestructure 20 extends upwardly, from a horizontally pivoted connection toa small bracket plate 46 fixed on the top trim plane 28, through sleeve40 and gland 43, being liquidtight sealed by the packings 44.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the plane operating rod 45 is fixedlyconnected to the base of a clevis-like adapter stem 47, and this clevismember is pivotally connected at 48 with one end of a medially pivotedlever arm 50.

The reference numeral 51 in FIG. 6 designates a suitable supportingbracket which is fixedly mounted within the boat hull 10, as to astanchion 52 on the inner side of transom 14. Upright spacer andaligning blocks 53..

54 are fixedly carried by bracket 51; and the plane operating lever arm50 is medially pivoted at 55 to the block 53. Of course, any otherappropriate and desired arrangement for mounting the operating means forthe plane unit 20 is contemplated.

The end of arm 50 opposite from its end pivot 48 is provided with aclevis or fork formation 56, within which an internally threaded sleeveor nut 57, preferably a ball type, is pivotally mounted at 58. Nut 57internally receives an upright screw shaft 60; and this screw isrotatably driven through a speed reduction unit 61 fixedly clamped tothe bracket spacer and aligning block 54. An electric motor 63 drivesshaft 60 through reduction unit 61 under the control of suitableoperating switch means (not shown) wired to the motor. Individualmotorized means as shown in FIG. 6 are provided for the individual andselective operation of the two plane units 20. To the extent that thestufiing box and operating components appear in other figures of thedrawings, they are designated by corresponding reference numerals. It iscontemplated that the lever arm operating provisions shown in FIG. 6 maybe replaced by more direct operating connections between motor 63 andshaft 45.

The embodiment of the control unit which is shown in FIG. 7 is one inwhich the plane-receiving hull recess, here specially designated 24' andbounded by side 'walls 25' is formed in the hull 12 well forwardly ofthe stern transom 14, being spaced from the latter by an interveninghull portion 65. Thus recess 24' is fully closed at its rear by the lastnamed portion, which, as in the first embodiment, is in effect anextension portion of transom 14.

The stuffing box provisionsat 38 are identical with those previouslydescribed. However, the adaptation of FIG. 7 is shown as employing aforwardly pivoted control plane 66 which lacks a rear and upwardextension, corresponding to the extension 34 of the plane member 28 ofthe earlier form; and the recess 24 will be fully closed by transomextension 65 and plane 66 when the latter is in a retracted positionflush with the bottom of hull 12.

FIGS. 8 and 9 depict another optional embodiment of the principle of theinvention, in which the control plane member 68 is operated foradjustment bodily in an up ward and downward way. To this end and toinsure a properly controlled action in adjustment, the plane 68 isactuated through two pairs (FIG. 9) of parallel operating rods 45, eachpivotally articulated to a plate 46 on the plane being each sealed by astufiing box unit 38. The several operating rods 45 may be drivinglycoordinated in any suitable fashion, as by a motor operated coupling foreach pair Or by a single coupling for the four operators which willinsure a simultaneous adjusting movement. This maintains the controlplane parallel to the angle of recess 24 in moving from its retractedposition, shown in a dotted line in FIG. 8, to its extended positionappearing in solid line.

Yet another alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 10-13,inclusive, in which the control plane is also bodily adjustable, asdistinguished from the pivotal adjustment of the embodiment firstdescribed. In this case, the motion of the control plane, speciallydesignated 70, is in a forward to aft direction, or vice versa, to andfrom a retracted position in which its tail end 71 (FIG. 10) iswithdrawn into the outline of hull 12 and its recess 24.

The plane 70 is plate-like and fiat, being disposed for sliding movementin a downwardly and rearwardly inclined paralleling the top of hullrecess 24'. It is operated for this motion by one or more actuating rods72 which have threaded end connection at 73 into the forward edge ofplane 70, as appears in FIG. 10.

In its adjusting motion between the solid line extended position of FIG.10 and the dotted line retracted position,

the control plane 70 has the assistance of a special adapter housing,generally designated 74, which islof triangular cross section as viewedin FIG. 10, being bounded at its opposite sides by upright walls 75. Abottom plate 76 extends integrally between Walls 75; and the housing issuitably secured rigidly from beneath across the forward portion of thehull recess 24', flush with the hull surface.

Adapter housing 74 is formed at its rear to provide an integral,transversely elongated guide formation 78 beneath which the controlplane 70 slides and is sustained from above for stability in itsadjusting motion. As illustrated in FIG. 12, plane 70 is of fulltransverse width, hence needs this sustaining action from above at zonesacross its width. FIG. 12 shows the plane 70 in solid line in itsretracted position, and in dotted line as extended to the rear.

Further to the end of stably guiding control plane 70, the side walls ofadapter housing 74 are provided with elongated fore-to-aft grooves 80 inwhich are received reduced thickness ribs 81 extending along the sidesof plane 70. Thus, can-ting of the plane in adjustment is positivelyprevented. See FIG. 13.

In order to complete the guidance and support from above of controlplane 70, in its extended position (solid line in FIGS. 10 and 11 anddotted line in FIG. 12), the hull 12 is provided, directly to the rearof recess 25' and forwardly of transom 14, with a pair of depending ribs83 in foreto-aft alignment with respective side walls of recess 24',being in effect continuations of those walls beneath the normal bottomof hull 12, as appears in FIG. 10'. Between the ribs 83, the hull isalso formed to provide a plurality of laterally spaced guide ribs 84 oflesser height than the ribs 83, as illustrated in FIG. 11; and in itsslidable adjustment the plane 70 is laterally guided between the hullribs 83, while being sustained from above by the intermediate ribs 84.

It is believed that the mode of operation of the improved trim andplaning con-trol means, in any of the embodiments thereof, will beobvious to those skilled in the art from the above description. It willbe recognized that the invention affords an extremely simple and ruggedarrangement of a vertically adjustable control plane member which may becontoured in conformity with a curved transom outline to mate flush withthe latter in a retracted position, as well as with the bottom contourof the hull, plus means to adjust the plane member while maintainingsubstantial parallelism of the aft transom and plane edges. The olfsethinge means of the preferred pivoted plane version of the invention makethis possible, and in the versions in which the plane has bodilyadjusting movement the maintenance of parallelism is inherent.

Another important advantage of the invention resides in the fact thatthe trim planes are wholly received within the respective hull recesses,and protectedly forward of the transom, thereby setting up little or nofrictional resistance to travel, while enabling the craft to be quicklyand easily trimmed and/ or altered as to attitude as loading and speedor other conditions may require.

What is claimed is:

1. In a boat having a transom adjoining a rear hull portion, theimprovement comprising a rigid and adjustable trim plane memberinstalled on said hull portion with at least a major part of said memberforward of said transom, said hull portion having a recess immediatelyforward of said transom in which said member is disposed, a lowersurface of the member being substantially flush with said hull portionin a retracted position of the plane member in said recess, and means tomovably adjust said member between said retracted position and anextended position in which a substantial part of its length is disposedbelow said recess and hull portion, said transom including a part aft ofsaid recess which downwardly covers at least a portion of the rear ofsaid recess when said plane member is in said extended position.

2. The improvement of claim 1, in which said plane member has a surfaceadjacent the rear thereof which extends upwardly in the direction towardthe hull recess and said covering part of said transom when the Planemember is in said extended position.

3. The improvement of claim 2, in which said upwardly extending surfaceof said plane member rearwardly overlaps said covering part of thetransom when the member is in said retracted position.

4. The improvement of claim 1, in which pivot means comprises a pivotunit at each side of the plane member hinging the latter to said hullportion, said pivot units being olfset from one another in the fore andaft direction.

5. The improvement of claim 4, in which said transom has a bottom edgein the fore-to-aft zone of the plane member which curves upwardly andoutwardly to a chine line of the boat, said plane member having a rearsurface substantially matching the curvature of said transom edge whenthe member is in retracted position.

6. The improvement of claim 1, in which said plane member is mounted foradjusting movement by means occasioning an upyard or downward bodilymovement of the member in the adjustment.

7. The improvement of claim 1, in which said transom curves outwardlyand upwardly at its bottom toward a chine line of the boat, said planemember being correspondingly curved at its aft portion to come flushwith the transom curve in the retracted position of the member.

8. The improvement of claim 2, in which said transom curves outwardly atits bottom toward a chine line of the boat, said plane member beingcorrespondingly curved at its aft portion to come flush with the transomcurve in the retracted position of the member.

9. A marine craft having a transom adjoining a stern hull portion, saidtransom having a bottom edge curving upwardly and outwardly toward achine line of the craft and said hull portion having an aft-to-forwardextending bottom recess therein, and a trim and/ or planing control unitoperatively assembled to the craft, comprising a rigid plane memberdisposed substantially in its entirety within said recess when saidmember is in inoperative, retracted position, said craft having meansoperatively connected to said plane member to operate the same betweensaid retracted position and an operative, extended position in which asubstantial portion of the member is disposed beneath the recess, saidmember having an aft curvature in general conformity with that of saidtransom edge, the lower surface of the plane member being substantiallyflush with that of said hull portion when the member is in retractedposition, and the curvatures of the transom and plane member beingsubstantially flush with one another in that position.

10. The craft of claim 9 in which said recess is located in its entiretyforward of said transom, being substantial- -ly covered at its rear by aportion of the transom.

11. The craft of claim 9, in which said plane member is pivotallymounted in the recess by pivot units at the sides of the member whichare offset relative to one in the forward-aft direction.

12. The craft of claim 9, in which said recess is substantially locatedin its entirety forward of said transom, being substantially covered atits rear by a portion of the transom, said plane member being pivotallymounted in the recess by pivot units at the sides of the member whichare offset relative to one another in the forward-aft direction.

13. In a boat having a transom adjoining a rear hull portion, theimprovement comprising a rigid and adjustable trim plane memberinstalled on said hull portion with at least a major part of said memberforward of said transom, a lower surface of the member being substantially flush with said hull portion in a retracted position of the planemember, and means to movably adjust said member between said retractedposition and an extended position in which a substantial part of itslength is disposed below said hull portion, said plane member having asurface adjacent the rear thereof which extends up wardly in thedirection toward said transom when the plane member is in said extendedposition.

14. The improvement of claim 13, in which said hull portion has a recessin which said plane member is received in said retracted position of thelatter.

15. A marine craft having a transom adjoining a stern hull portion, arigid and adjustable trim plane member installed on said hull portionforward of said transom, said hull portion having a recess in which saidtrim plane member is disposed, and trim member having a lower surfacesubstantially flush with said hull portion when in retracted position insaid recess, means to movably adjust said plane trim member from saidretracted position to an extended position in which a substantial partof said lower surface is below said recess and said hull portion, and atransversely extending member at the rear of said trim plane memberwhich extends upwardly toward said transom thereby covering a portion ofthe rear of said recess when said trim plane member is in said extendedposition.

16. The craft according to claim 15 in which said transom includes apart aft of said recess which downwardly covers at least a portion ofthe rear of said recess and cooperates with said upwardly extending partof said trim plane member to shield and protect said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,159,131 12/1964 Frederick114-665 3,313,262 4/1967 Yunker et al. 114-665 3,327,671 6/1967 Comins114-66.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 474,908 11/ 1937 Great Britain.

ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner.

